A few articles of note from over the weekend and Monday:
- Acupuncture ‘lessens pain in brain not body’, scientists discover – Telegraph — “These results provide objective scientific evidence that acupuncture has specific effects within the brain which hopefully will lead to a better understanding of how acupuncture works.”
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- Bias in Psychiatric Diagnosis: Concerns about DSM-V — The Association for Women in Psychology — great collection of critical links.
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- New Recommendation: Why You Need More Vitamin D — Dr. Weil — We have known for many years that we need vitamin D to facilitate calcium absorption and promote bone mineralization. But newer research has shown that we also need it for protection against a number of serious diseases. In recent years, scientists have discovered that it may help to prevent several cancers, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, psoriasis, diabetes, psychosis, and respiratory infections including colds and flu.
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- Anti-depressant linked to breast cancer deaths — Daily Mail (study in BMJ) — Women taking a popular anti-depressant at the same time as a drug used to stop breast cancer recurring are more likely to die from the disease, doctors warn.
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- Smokers can quit without nicotine-replacement products. Really. — Los Angeles Times Many smokers are able to quit unassisted, say Simon Chapman and Ross MacKenzie of the School of Public Health in Sydney, Australia. They criticize what they call the “medicalization of smoking cessation,” because it’s not backed by evidence. Indeed, an analysis of 511 studies published in 2007 and 2008 show that two-thirds to three-quarters of smokers stop unaided and most ex-smokers report that cessation was less difficult than expected. LOVE IT when I’m validated. I’ve been saying this for years except in addition, my experience with nicotine replacement was that it extended the addiction and for me, in fact, I was unable to quit until I GAVE UP nicotine replacement since all it did was keep me hooked longer.
Everything matters 